Special Educational Needs Special Educational Needs for Educatorsfor Educators

Special Educational Needs Special Educational Needs for Educatorsfor Educators

Presented by Dr. Kay Bartosz Presented by Dr. Kay Bartosz and Dr. Maureen Brustkernand Dr. Maureen Brustkern

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Special Needs often seen in Mainstream Classrooms

Learning DisabilitiesAttention Deficit Disorder Behavior or Emotional ProblemsPhysical Disabilities Mental or Brain Processing DisabilitySpeech or Communication DifficultySensory Impairment

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Children with Learning Disabilities

• Often have difficulties with basic reading and language skills

• May have a family history of LD problems• Are as smart or smarter than their peers• Cannot be cured or fixed• Can be successful students and

professionals when provided with support and intervention.

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Common Learning Disabilities

• Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words.

• Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.

• Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.

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Common Learning Disabilities

• Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.

• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.

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What Learning disabilities are not

• Mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral disorders.

• Caused by family situations, changing schools, poverty and attendance problems.

• To be confused with difficulties students face when learning a second language.

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Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder

(ADD)• difficulty focusing and maintaining

attention in academic and/or social situations

• chronically disorganized• poor memory• consistently loses things• procrastination

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Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD)• Impulsiveness: a child who acts quickly

without thinking first. • Hyperactivity: a child who can't sit still,

walks, runs, or climbs around when others are seated, talks when others are talking.

• Inattention: a child who daydreams or seems to be in another world, is easily distracted.

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Treatment of ADD and ADHD

• Medical Treatment• Behavior Therapy• Combination of Both

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Behavior or Emotional Disorders

• Bullying• Eating Disorders• Lying• Phobia• Stealing

• Temper Tantrum• Truancy• Vandalism• Withdrawal

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Physical Disabilities• Cerebral Palsy• Cystic Fibrosis• Muscular Dystrophy• Poliomyelitis• Spina Bifida

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Physical DisabilitiesMay be something a child is born

with or may be a result of accident or illness.

May be mild or severe

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Medical Conditions• Asthma• Cancer/Leukemia• Diabetes• Epilepsy• Heart Defect• Rubella

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Speech or Communication

Difficulty• Autism• Asperger Syndrome• Stuttering

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Sensory Impairment• Deafness• Blindness• Deaf/Blind Rubella